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Thursday, September 1, 2016

Wal-Mart Crime report August 2016

Walmart has had high crime problems for years, if not decades, and the mainstream media ahs finally decided to report about it starting with a couple of national reports exposing it and a half dozen or so local articles exploring the problems in their areas. However even these articles may underestimate the problems they have. One of the studies says that their were two hundred violent crimes at their stores in the first six or seven months across the country. .

No doubt this is true counting numerous shootings, stabbings and other types of assaults; however if they counted all the potentially dangerous purse snatching sexual assaults and confrontations that didn’t result in serious injuries this figure would almost certainly be much higher. The criteria for this particular conclusion are probably fairly high keeping the numbers low. This isn't entirely accidental; it is a result of enormous incompetence and efforts to cover up high crime rates while using political clout to continue expanding this oligarchy throughout the world without letting the public know how much problems it is causing.

This isn't the result of a free-market system which needs to provide accurate information to consumers to enable them to make rational decisions.

It is a result of an oligarchy system that gave enormous advantages to Walmart and a handful of other oligarchies that take up the majority of the market they don't dominate.

Also a close look at some of the articles criticizing them indicates that even they're being watered down. Several of the ones reporting on high crime at Walmart in the past have done so before. Then in at least a couple cases after meeting behind closed doors with Walart representatives they claim that they're working together to solve the problem; however they do little or nothing to adress many of the root causes of crime like the design of their stores, union busting, corner cutting and repairing abandoned inner cities or reversing outsourcing which eliminated jobs. The solutions they do offer are ones that hold those accountable with the least political power and no opportunities, but doing nothing to those indirectly contributing to crime.

Another study that came out late this month also indicates that the poorest communities with the most minorities have the most customer complaints.

Of course their problems continue this month with at least a dozen gun related crimes, including at least seven shootings with at least a couple deaths, and more deaths that weren't gun related, including one where a daughter stabbed her mother who later died as a result of her injuries. In one odd case a concerned citizen drove the victim of a gunshot to the local jail before she was driven to the hospital. This could have been innocent, but it seems odd.

There were several other stabbings assaults, domestic abuse incidents, including one involving a couple employees and the father of one of them, rapes, intentionally hitting someone with a car to steal a purse, a couple incidents with pepper spray that led to hospitalization of customers, and assaults on officers. Some of these incidents often result from incompetent policies like the use of self-serve check outs which have led to many problems.

There are many stories like people being accused of pouring bleach over clothes that serve no rational purposes; however they might be a result of disgruntled customers retaliating out of anger. In this case there's no evidence to support that conclusion; however there are in some of their other incidents and when there are an enormous number of incidents and reluctance to report on problems this is reasonable speculation.

Walmart's clout is becoming increasingly obvious for those that look at low profile stories like lack of antitrust consideration when they're constantly taking over markets including on line ones like Jet.com or wiping out liquor stores in Texas even when they have higher problems with crime. Some police departments short on funds are relying on them, which should be considered a conflict of interests. They've banned community activists from one store after a police shooting that killed a teen.

Many decisions that used to belong to the government which was accountable to voters are now in the hands of multinational corporations including the use of chemicals in soil.

Why should Walmart be involved in research about how many chemicals impact soil when more responsible community activists and researchers aren't? The same goes for social activists that research how child abuse leads to escalating violence who are excluded but business executives that are only interested in profits influence policies to prevent crime that don't work.

The Washington D.C. teachers union recognized Walmart's negative impact on education and instead of being thankful for a modest grant they called for a boycott for negative influences corporations are having on the education system, which could conceivably be related to their crime problems.

Their lists of recalls is also growing with chest of draws that fall forward and injure children, strollers that could also injure children, and more vegetables that might have listeria contamination. When Walmart causes problems like this the costs are enormous but the victims don't have nearly as much legal clout. There have been numerous lawsuits in the past where there customers were at a major disadvantage thanks to the money they get for their legal defense from those same customers.

Obama has turned out to be an ally of Walmart "Whose Stores He Once Shunned;" however that was during his campaign; and he hasn't shunned them since getting in office. A hint of that should have been revealed when his wife worked for one of their major suppliers and these flip flops are routine for establishment politicians who abandon promises to voters but not donors once in office.

Only at Walmart do they have problems with people stealing the home security systems, or at least that I know of. And strange things like thousands of bees escaping and injuring people probably shouldn't be too surprising.

However the monkey never bit anyone, contrary to previous reports.

There probably never would have been any problem with him if they had left him alone.

I don't know why they have to make such a big deal out of it every time a monkey is hanging out by the shopping cart return area.

Strange things happen at Wal-Mart!

In 2006 Wake Up Wal-Mart did a study, "Is Wal-Mart Safe?" based on incidents in 2004, (PDF) about crime at Wal-Mart which showed that it increased when Wal-Marts opened up and that crime was higher at Wal-Mart than at other retailers. Since then Wal-Mart Shootings began compiling a list of gun related incidents at Wal-Mart and demonstrated that they have a large number of them, including on average more than one shooting per week somewhere in the country. In January of 2014 another study, "Rolling Back Prices and Raising Crime Rates?" provided additional statistical research indicating that Wal-Mart might be contributing to higher crime rates or at least a slowing of the decline in crime. The study found that. “on average, communities with Walmarts had 17 more property crimes and two more violent crimes per 10,000 people than those communities without Walmarts.” I reviewed this more in Wal-Mart’s crime problem, Rolling Back Safety more than prices? where I explained that although this study is helpful they could have done better with additional data that is available and I reviewed some of that. I also added my own review about why I think that Wal-Mart policies have been contributing to higher crime in a previous blog, Wal-Mart high crime rate continues un-investigaterd and have provided additional information under the author tag Walmart Crime Watch.

Stacy Mitchell has also compiled a list of other studies about Wal-Mart and how they impact society, Key Studies on Big-Box Retail & Independent Business. To the best of my knowledge Wal-Mart has done as little as they seem to get away with, often relying on rhetoric that isn't backed up with action, when it comes to addressing any of their critics concerns, including crime. The following are a list of incidents that occurred in August 2016. According to the "Is Wal-Mart Safe?" the average store in their sampling had 250 incidents per year, indicating that these are only a fraction of the crime reports at Wal-Mart, and presumably, the ones most likely to make the news on the internet nationwide. This isn't statistically representative, as the 2006 or the "Rolling Back Prices and Raising Crime Rates?" study or some of the studies cited by Stacy Mitchell; but it does provide some additional information that may help recognize how many problems there are at Wal-Mart.

For local funny man Jeff Brown — who wears clown shoes every day and treats April Fools’ Day like a national holiday — there are few things better than when people take his jokes seriously.

“The kind of humor I like is the kind that makes you think as well as laugh,” said Brown, father of two satirical publications here in town, the now defunct Juneau What newspaper and Real Alaska Magazine. “I’ve done my job if people think my jokes are real.”

Job well done, Jeff.

Two weeks ago he posted several joke fliers around Juneau advertising a community pot garden in the vacant Walmart building off of Glacier Highway, and several people, including me, took the phony fliers seriously — or seriously enough to call Walmart and ask about the garden. Complete article

Woman talks about being stabbed while shopping at Ohio Walmart 08/09/2016

MORAINE, Ohio (WRGT) -- Courtney Frye-Heckman just needed two more items before heading to check out at the Moraine Walmart. Moments later she was attacked. Courtney says she has not been back since the attack. She also knows she could have suffered much more serious injuries.

That's when police say Brenda Parker ,61, came up to her.

"She just walked up and stabbed me and I was like, 'Oh, why did she hit me in the back?'" said Frye-Heckman.

But at the time Frye-Heckman didn't know what happened and Parker kept on shopping.

"And then that's when I felt my back and there was a little blood and I was like, 'Did she just stab me?'" said Frye-Heckman. Complete article

JERUSALEM — With hundreds of children attending the New York State Sheriffs’ Institute camp on Keuka Lake this summer, camp officials got some good news this week.

In a check presentation ceremony at the camp Tuesday, officials received a $47,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation. Yates County Sheriff Ron Spike, chairman of the institute’s board of directors, said the money will support the camp’s nutrition program.

“We’re very excited to partner with Walmart to develop and run a nutrition education program at our camp,” Spike said in a press release. “This grant will go a long way in helping our campers stay healthy and happy and make good choices at camp and beyond.” Complete article

Orangeburg, SC (WLTX) - Orangeburg County deputies are investigating after a man says he was robbed of his dentures in the Walmart parking lot.

The man told deputies the suspect approached him in the store's parking lot and asked for a cigarette. He said the suspect then pointed a gun at the him, reached into his pocket, and stole a dollars worth of change and his lower set of dentures. Complete article

Walmart in Portsmouth Va. closes because of security concerns 08/08/2016 .... Members of a small group that planned a sit-in at the store Sunday posted video on Facebook in which Walmart staff members appeared to accommodate the demonstrators, asking them to stay in a specific area of the parking lot. Members of the group later appeared to try to enter the store. It was at that point that staff members closed the business.

ROCHESTER, Minn. – Police arrested three Rochester teens on Friday after they allegedly crashed mobility scooters at Walmart South and assaulted officers.

Employees called Rochester police around 8:30 p.m. Friday after they say a 17-year-old and two 16-year-old boys were crashing scooters into each other and store displays.

When police tried arresting the teens, one took several swings at an officer before being handcuffed. Another teen pushed an officer and ran into the parking lot. The third teen also took off running, but officers quickly caught them both. Complete article

BAYONNE -- A Jersey City man has been charged with beating his daughter's co-worker with a baseball bat in a shopping center parking lot, authorities said.

Bayonne police say Carlos Alfonso, 59, of Jersey City, his wife and their daughter got into a dispute with a 24-year-old Jersey City man in the Walmart parking lot at Bayonne Crossing at 10:30 on Thursday, Aug. 4.

The argument escalated and Alfonso struck his daughter's co-worker in the head with a wooden bat, Bayonne police said. The victim declined medical attention. The cause of the argument could not be determined, police said, Complete article

An active underground meth lab was uncovered Monday in a storm sewer in the parking lot of the Walmart on Sheridan Drive and Bailey Avenue, Amherst police said.

Firefighters from both Amherst and Buffalo companies and specially trained state police in hazmat suits were lowered down into the storm sewer Monday afternoon to investigate and clean up the small but potentially toxic lab.

“We always take precautions because of the chemicals ... The chemicals are highly volatile,” said Detective Lt. JoAnn DiNoto of the Amherst Police narcotics unit. Complete article

Community activists banned from Va. Walmart where teen was killed by police 08/08/2016

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - Two community activists were given trespassing charges after attempting to shop at a local Walmart.

The store on Frederick Boulevard is the same location where William Chapman was shot and killed in the parking lot in April 2015 by former Portsmouth Police Officer Stephen Rankin.

Rankin was convicted last week for voluntary manslaughter.

President of the local Portsmouth Chapter of the NAACP James Boyd and co-founder of the Coalition of Black Americans Louie Gibbs said they went to Walmart Sunday after they got word about a possible protest. Complete article

Police say a man who slashed his own throat inside the Johnson City Wal-Mart first tried goading an officer to shoot him, before he was subdued Tuesday afternoon.

The incident happened around 2:30 p.m. at the Wal-Mart on Gannett Drive, and forced an evacuation of the store's employees and customers for about a half-hour. Officers responded to a call about a man in the produce section who was threatening to slit his own throat, Johnson City Police Chief Brent Dodge said.

When confronted by a police officer, the 40-year-old man kept saying, "Shoot me," Dodge said, and then started to cut his arms and wrists with a razor knife he was brandishing.

"He's moving around while he's doing all this," Dodge said of the man, "and the officer deployed pepper spray to subdue the guy, but that was ineffective." Complete article

"I don't know what happened. I was just at the stop light and someone shot at the car."
By Lyda Longa, lyda.longa@news-jrnl.com

Someone shot at the van of a motorist in the middle of a bustling Ormond Beach intersection earlier this week as the victim and her 8-year-old daughter waited at a turn light, a report states.

The driver, Sonia Bolles, 40, did not even realize that a bullet had penetrated her car as she waited to turn left at Granada and Williamson boulevards Tuesday evening on her way to pick up her older daughter from work. In the back seat was Bolles' younger daughter Juliana, police said. Neither Bolles nor Juliana were hurt in the incident that occurred Tuesday night just after 9:30 Complete article

One of Wal-Mart's primary selling points is its low prices, but customers at a growing number of stores are out of luck if they happen to see lower prices on a competitor's shelves. After eliminating its price-matching policy at 500 stores in June, the retail giant added another 300 locations to that list at the beginning of the month, according to Consumerist.com.

"It's possible that price-matching did little to actually alter store volumes and/or price perception in those markets," Kenneth Perkins, an equity analyst at Morningstar, suggested via email. "It's also possible that the competitive environment in those markets has decreased," he said, or that resources for the in-store program were being diverted to the retailer's online arm. Complete article

ST. CLOUD, Fla. — An investigation is being conducted to determine why a uniformed police officer was denied service at a Walmart in Florida.

Authorities and Walmart confirmed that the officer walked into the St. Cloud Walmart on 13th Street, grabbed what he needed and then headed for the checkout.

The officer told a friend the cashier pointed to her skin color and told him she wouldn't ring up his items. The officer also told that friend that a second employee laughed at the way the officer was treated. Complete article

SALT LAKE CITY — There's no question, police officers are busy. At KSL, we often get complaints that police are so strapped, they can't even send out an officer to some crimes. So where are police spending their time? KSL Investigators dug into police data from more than a dozen cities and discovered Wal-Mart is at the top of the list.

In Salt Lake City in 2015, the Road Home shelter area was No. 1 with 1,927 calls to police. But coming in a close second, with 1,590 calls last year alone, was the Wal-Mart at 350 Hope Ave. near 1300 South. It averages out to 4.3 calls every day.

"There were times that we'd be there a couple times during our shift, two to three times," Wilking said. "And there were often times we felt like we couldn't leave, just another problem would come up." Complete article

SC Walmart admits to building median, but did they have permission? 08/12/2016

Walmart admitted Friday to building the median that seemingly appeared overnight in a greater Bluffton shopping center across the street from where the retailer is building two new stores, and it is not clear whether the retailer had permission to do so.

The median was built to accommodate a traffic light that Walmart plans to build at the Bluffton Road entrance of the Kittie’s Crossing shopping center, according to a representative from Walmart. Kittie’s Crossing is across the street from where Walmart is building a superstore and a Sam’s Club.

Walmart does not own the Kittie’s Crossing property.

“The median is required by the S.C. Department of Transportation as part of the construction of our new store and nearby traffic light,” Phillip Keene, director of corporate communications for Walmart, wrote in the email early Friday. “We’re actively working with the primary property owner of the private drive near the median to address some concerns that have been brought to our attention. We hope to provide a further update soon.”

Michael Black, a spokesman for the state DOT, said earlier in the week that the encroachment permit required to construct the light did not cover the section where the median was built. Complete article

Multiple people were injured late Sunday when mace was sprayed at a Wal-Mart in west suburban Forest Park.

About 11:40 p.m., police responded to a call of mace being sprayed at a Wal-Mart at 1300 Desplaines Ave., according to Forest Park police Deputy Chief Mike Keating.

A female customer put her keys down while shopping in the sports department and forgot to pick them up, Keating said. When she went back to retrieve the keys, she noticed her pepper spray on her key chain was missing.

The mace was soon after sprayed in the store, Keating said.

“Somebody sprayed pepper spray throughout the whole building,” an employee told reporters at the scene. “Everybody was coughing…it was dramatic.” Complete article

Low Prices, High Crime: Inside Walmart’s Plan to Crack Down on Shoplifting 08/15/2016

The nation's largest retailer is taking justice into its own hands

The Walmart Supercenter in Camden, S.C., is a 24/7 retail oasis in an area with few options. There are Walmarts in nearby counties, but some of them aren’t open 24 hours a day. Camden’s location—close to Lake Watertree and a nearby river with few bridges—makes it difficult for residents to go anywhere other than the sprawling complex for everything from bread to tires to electronics. And it’s a place the Camden Police Department knows well. In the first six months of 2016, 14% of the department’s police reports originated at Walmart, most for shoplifting—a figure that could be much higher if you ask the town’s police chief.

“Sometimes they don’t call us,” says Camden Police Chief Joe Floyd. “They call us when they make an apprehension of a shoplifter. But they don’t call us every time something happens there.”

Across the U.S., Walmarts have become a regular stop for law enforcement responding to calls. In Camden, The State reported in July that 187 of the police department’s 1,372 calls from January to June this year occurred at Walmart. The Tampa Bay Times found 16,800 calls to police for Walmarts in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando counties in just one year—four times the number of calls to Targets in the area—and amounting to the equivalent of two calls an hour. In Louisville, WDRB reported more than 9,200 calls for police at area Walmarts since 2012, by far the most of any location in the city. In April 2015, a Portsmouth, Va., Walmart was the scene of a fatal encounter between a white police officer and a black unarmed man accused of shoplifting. Police in Amherst, N.Y., recently discovered a meth lab inside a drainage pipe underneath a Walmart parking lot. And earlier this month, criminal charges were brought against three employees of a Florida Walmart Supercenter accused of fatally injuring a shoplifter who was trying to steal $380 worth of DVDs. Complete article

Video taken by Richelle Stewart shows a store employee trying to corral the diaper-wearing primate near the shopping cart return area.

When the man gets close, however, the monkey can be seen jumping from the metal railing and grabbing him by the arm and clothing. A woman runs up to the employee yelling, “Let him go, let him go, let him go! If he bites you, they will put him down.”

The woman grabs the monkey by the hand and walks to an RV parked in the lot.

A 911 caller told the emergency operator that the Wal-Mart worker had been bitten, but Lancaster police later determined that the animal had only grabbed the man, and that he was unharmed. Since he wasn’t hurt, no report was filed, according to police. Complete article

WASHINGTON - Despite Walmart running a back-to-school campaign calling on people to nominate a teacher to help them receive school supplies and a $490 gift card – the estimated yearly cost teachers spend out of their own pocket to supply their classroom – the Washington Teachers’ Union is calling out the retail giant for not doing enough to help public schools, especially in Washington D.C.

The teachers’ union blasted Walmart at a press conference Friday and called the promotion “deceitful,” “bogus,” and a “cynical coverup.” The union believes the Walton family, the owner of the retailer, shortchanges and undermines D.C. public school students by providing large financial support to charter schools.

The union is asking its teachers not to spend their money and to boycott Walmart.

"It is not true philanthropy when Walmart is cloaking that campaign under the auspices of wanting to help poor children with teachers buying supplies,” said Washington Teachers’ Union President Elizabeth Davis. “It seems to me that because Walmart wants to give this as a donation to students – that irrespective of the conditions – we should accept it, we should want it. I think that we need to be more conscious in that. We need to teach our students even gifts that appear to be free are not free." Complete article

Fort Wayne Police responded to a theft call at 5:50 p.m. Sunday at Walmart, 7502 Southtown Crossing, where police became involved in a pursuit of a getaway vehicle, according to a police report.

Police chased the car to the 700 block of Dolphin Drive where the driver of the getaway vehicle slammed on the brakes. One woman, Annette Burnett, 47, of the 4500 block of South Park Drive, was preliminarily arrested on theft charges for allegedly taking two bottles of Grey Goose Vodka, one bottle of Crown Royal Apple whisky, one bottle of Crown Royal Honey whisky, one bottle of Crown Royal Black whisky and one bottle of Amsterdam Vodka.

A store employee told police he saw two women enter the liquor aisle and begin placing alcohol bottles into a black book bag and a black purse. One female was in an electric cart and the other, whom he identified as Burnett, was walking. The employee said he confronted both at the exit door, and they both dropped the bags and ran. Complete article

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - An hours-long standoff at a Walmart on the south side of Tucson came to an end early Tuesday morning when an armed suspect was taken into custody.

Sgt. Pete Dugan, spokesman for the Tucson Police Department, said the incident began around 9:30 p.m. Monday in a parking lot near the intersection of East Drexel Road and South Tucson Boulevard.

Dugan said shoppers called 911 because they were worried about a man's welfare. Witnesses said the man was rambling and claiming people were trying to kill him. He was also going in and out of his vehicle, a white van.

By 4 a.m., the man was in custody and at a local hospital. Dugan said the man will be arrested once he's released from the hospital.

Authorities broke windows and used pepper bombs to get the man out of the vehicle. They eventually pulled him out through the driver's side door and he was shocked with a stun gun when he began fighting with police. Complete article

Walmart’s $3.3 billion acquisition of Jet.com can be expected to sail through antitrust review, eliciting barely a peep of objection from the federal government.

Like Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp, the Walmart deal will probably end up being another example of an upstart internet company being swallowed up to preserve the stranglehold of a giant.

This happens because antitrust regulators are stuck in an outdated view of the world, while the internet giants are more attuned to their nascent competitive threats. The deal for Jet.com is just the latest defensive internet acquisition of an emerging start-up that will preserve the hegemony of a select few. Complete article

Chest of drawers sold exclusively on Walmart website recalled 08/16/2016

The Storybook brand wood dressers, sold exclusively on Walmart’s website, are unstable if not anchored to the wall and can seriously injure or even kill children. Complete article

Man dead in officer-involved shooting at Lenoir NC Walmart 08/16/2016

LENOIR, NC (WBTV) - One person is dead and two more are in custody after an officer-involved shooting in Lenoir Tuesday morning. Police say it happened at the Walmart just off of Highway 321 near Greenhaven Drive NW.

Lenoir Police Chief Scott Brown says his officers "were heroes today." Those four officers were placed on administrative leave after a confrontation with a man ended in an exchange of gunfire and the suspect being killed.

It started just after 8 a.m. when employees at the Walmart in Lenoir called police to investigate suspicious activity that may have involved a break-in. When officers arrived, they confronted a man and a woman inside the store and, after asking a few questions, took them into custody.

"I saw a man and woman being handcuffed," said Shaun Helton, who was inside waiting for the pharmacy to open.

That's when police said a third person, later identified as Carl Nivens, had a confrontation with an officer and started running.

Chief Brown said Nivens pulled out a handgun and fired a shot at the officers. Another officer at the front door tried to grab Nivens and started wrestling with him. At that point, another officer fired a shot that hit Nivens. Complete article

Man injured after accidentally shooting himself at South Amarillo Tx. Walmart 08/16/2016

AMARILLO, Texas (KVII) — A man was injured and may be facing possible charges after a gun he was carrying accidentally went off, injuring him.

According to the Amarillo Police Department, officers were sent to the Walmart at I-27 and South Georgia Street on an accidental shooting around 3 a.m. on Tuesday. Officers were told a man was walking in the store and apparently shot himself in the abdomen and right leg.

Police said the man was not with anyone else and initial information was that he was carrying a revolver in his pants. It is not known whether the gun was in his waistband or pocket, as no holster was mentioned, when the gun went off.

APD said the man fell to the ground, got up, put the gun in a trash can then left the store before officers or an ambulance arrived. He told officers that a friend drove him to the hospital. The man was being treated for the gunshot wound and told officers how it happened. Complete article

Darrell Ross—Officer Walmart to his colleagues in the Tulsa Police Department—operates for up to 10 hours a day out of the security office of a Walmart Supercenter in the city’s northeast corner. It’s a small, windowless space with six flatscreen monitors mounted on a pale blue cinder-block wall, and on this hot summer day, the room is packed. Four Walmart employees watch the monitors, which toggle among the dozens of cameras covering the store and parking lot, while doing paperwork and snacking on Cheez Whiz and Club Crackers. In a corner of the room, an off-duty sheriff’s officer, hired by Walmart, makes small talk with the employees.

As soon as Ross walks in the door, around 2 p.m., he’s presented with an 18-year-old who tried to leave the store with a microwave oven. Ross focuses his gaze and talks in a low voice to the young man, who just graduated from high school and plans to go into the military. He also attempts to calm the boy’s mother, who rushed to the store and is worried that her son won’t be able to enlist if he gets a criminal record. “You need to start taking responsibility for your actions,” Ross tells the teenager. “You’re a man now.” He tells the mother that because it was the boy’s first offense, he won’t be arrested—but if he messes up twice more, he’ll be charged with a felony. Ross slips a pair of reading glasses out of his bulletproof vest and writes the young man a summons to appear in court.

Before he can finish the paperwork, Walmart security employees catch another shoplifter. They bring in a middle-aged woman with big sunken eyes and pale cheeks, her hair tied in a messy bun. Employees caught her using phony gift cards. She rattles off excuses: The cards were given to her by a friend, she’s just gotten out of the hospital, she’s dehydrated. At one point she pretends to vomit into a trash can. Picking up the odor of pot, Ross takes a look in her handbag and finds marijuana roaches, along with a small scale and a pill bottle full of baggies. A computer check reveals five outstanding warrants for her arrest.

It’s not unusual for the department to send a van to transport all the criminals Ross arrests at this Walmart. The call log on the store stretches 126 pages, documenting more than 5,000 trips over the past five years. Last year police were called to the store and three other Tulsa Walmarts just under 2,000 times. By comparison, they were called to the city’s four Target stores about 300 times. Most of the calls to the northeast Supercenter were for shoplifting, but there’s no shortage of more serious crimes, including five armed robberies so far this year, a murder suspect who killed himself with a gunshot to the head in the parking lot last year, and, in 2014, a group of men who got into a parking lot shootout that killed one and seriously injured two others. Complete article

This article probably underestimates the problems with Walmart as indicated in the reports listed here, which aren't nearly complete.

Violent crimes at Walmart top 200 this year as police slam giant retailer for security practices 08/17/2016

Your local Walmart may be the most crime-ridden place in town.

Over 200 violent crimes this year, or roughly one shooting, stabbing, kidnapping, murder or other violence a day, have happened at the giant retailer’s 4,500 American locations this year, according to an analysis of media reports published by Bloomberg Businessweek on Wednesday.

Police reports at Walmarts nationwide add up to the hundreds of thousands for 2016, according to the news outlet’s estimates. Walmart executives, who cite a new company strategy aimed at the issue, admit local police are frustrated by the crime problems plaguing the superstores.

Walmart raised its earnings outlook for the year and delivered strong profit and sales in the second quarter after the world's largest retailer revamped its stores and improved the shopping experience online, changes that appear to be winning over customers.

The company recorded its largest jump in second-quarter comparable-store sales since the recession eight years ago.

"Our strategy in the U.S. is working," said CEO Doug McMillon.

Shares rose 3 percent in early trading.

Wal-Mart is fighting off competition on multiple fronts, from Amazon.com and dollar stores, to grocers like Kroger, which are ramping up promotions and lowering prices Complete article

Biddeford police say a man stole a can of aerosol computer duster from Wal-Mart and another man huffed it in the parking lot before he crashed his car into the building.

Police were called to Wal-Mart around 7:40 a.m. Thursday after a car driven by 21-year-old Daniel Spear of Arundel crashed into the building and caught on fire. The officer was able to put out the fire with an extinguisher from the police cruiser.

A review of Wal-Mart’s surveillance videos showed that Justin Wells, the 36-year-old passenger, had gone into the store before the crash and stolen a can of aerosol duster used to clean computer keyboards. Surveillance video showed that Spear appeared to “huff” the duster before the crash, police said.

Spear then drove his car straight into a safety post outside the building at a high rate of speed. Complete article

Palmyra Me. Wal-Mart locked down after report of suicidal man with gun in parking lot 08/19/2016

The 28-year-old Corinna man, who police said was suicidal, had a gun and was parked at the end of the parking lot near U.S. Route 2, causing a massive police response at Wal-Mart as customers were kept locked inside the store for more than two hours.

A standoff that lasted more than two hours in the Wal-Mart parking lot on U.S. Route 2 in Palmyra ended peacefully Friday when a suicidal man was taken into custody after he had sat in his pickup truck armed with a gun, according to police.

The 28-year-old Corinna man, whom police did not immediately identify, was taken from his truck around 1 p.m. and handcuffed on the ground next to it after he apparently surrendered. He was taken into custody several minutes after the standoff ended, according to a news release issued by Steve McCausland, spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety. It did not specify charges. Complete article

Report: NC Walmart is hot bed for crime 08/19/2016

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A new report suggests people could be at greater risk of being a crime victim if they shop at Walmart.

Bloomberg Businessweek published a report claiming Walmart has an "out-of-control" crime problem at many of its stores.

Twice this year, Walmarts in the Charlotte area became crime scenes after shots rang out at the store or nearby.

In February, a man was found outside a west Charlotte Walmart with a gunshot wound; he somehow ended up there after being shot about a mile away.

Earlier this week at a Walmart in Lenoir, a police officer was chasing after Carl Nivens, who they said, and store surveillance photos suggested, pulled out a gun, turned around and fired at the officer. Complete article

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - A man was shot in a southwest Charlotte parking lot and dropped off at a Mount Holly hospital where he was pronounced dead Sunday.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police were called to the Walmart in the 8100 block of South Tryon Street Saturday night at 9 p.m. in reference to a shooting. When they arrived, officers said they only found an abandoned vehicle. At that point, no one had been taken to area hospitals.

A few hours later, Mount Holly police called CMPD and said a a man had been dropped off at CaroMont Regional Medical Center with gunshot wounds. He was reportedly pronounced dead by medical staff. Complete article

Police departments want to know: Why can't Wal-Mart stores be more like Targets?

That's one of the takeaways from a big Bloomberg Businessweek piece on what it calls the "out-of-control crime problem" at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. In addition to the usual problems that any retailer can face — shopliftings and so on — the Bentonville, Ark.-based retail giant's stores have been the scene for more than 200 violent crimes this year (and that doesn't include the meth lab found inside a drainage pipe under a rural New York store).

Police departments sound fed up, and routinely compare Wal-Mart to Target, which one police captain says, "Doesn't have these problems." Part of it is there are fewer Targets, generally in better neighborhoods.

But there are policy differences, too: Targets aren't open all night (unlike many Wal-Marts) and don't allow people to camp overnight in parking lots. And, police say, Targets have more visible security staff, especially at the front of stores. Complete article

In Portland Oregon area, police called to Walmart twice as much as Fred Meyer 08/22/2016

Walmart generates far more police calls then comparable stores in the Portland area, matching reports from cities across America.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Walmart stores are hubs of activity, where shoppers can buy everything from food to clothing to electronics.

They’re also a hotspot for police calls. In Vancouver, Washington, there were more police calls to the Walmart at Northeast 104th Avenue than any other one location in the city in 2015. It was nearly twice the number of calls as the second-highest location, Vancouver Mall.

Compared to Fred Meyer, Walmart stores generate more than twice as many calls on average in the Portland metro area.

In Multnomah, Washington and Clark counties, police were called to Walmart on average of 803 times a year, compared to 374 for nearby Fred Meyers. And one store isn't skewing the data. Every single Walmart generated significantly more calls than the nearest Fred Meyer. Complete article

Woman hit by car, robbed at South Amarillo Tx. Walmart 08/22/2016

AMARILLO, Texas (KVII) — A woman was taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries after being struck by a vehicle then robbed in the parking lot of the Walmart on I-27 and Georgia.

According to police, officers were sent to the Walmart just after 3:30 p.m. on Sunday on a robbery. When officers arrived at the scene, the 51-year-old victim told them that a vehicle had struck her in the parking lot. One of the suspects in the car got out and took her purse.

The victim told officers that she had been pushing her shopping cart to her car when an early 90's model faded red four door Lincoln Town Car came speeding through the parking lot. The vehicle hit her and she fell to the ground. Then, a man got out of the back seat of the car and grabbed the victim's purse out of the shopping cart. The vehicle then left the area.

APD said a witness followed the suspect vehicle to the area of Southwest 44th Avenue and Fannin Street. The man who had stolen the purse got out of the vehicle, pointed a gun at the witness and told the witness to quit following them or he would be shot. The witness left the area and went back to the Walmart to talk to police. Complete article

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- As police departments work to do more with less, some communities are taking a look at where the resources go, and how the nation's largest retailer uses police forces in its communities. Since 2012, police in eight Arkansas cities have responded to more than 25,000 calls at Walmart locations in their jurisdictions.

"You never know, really, what you're going to get that day," she said, as the radio crackled with a call of a theft at the local Dollar Tree.

Little Rock Police Officer Courtney Freeland doesn't have a crystal ball when she heads in for her shift at the Northwest Substation off Kanis.

"You could start of the day with a call we're going to now where there's a theft, and then you're going to someone's house for a disturbance," she said.

But historically, she can be certain of at least one call to Walmart coming over the radio each shift. Complete article

Walmart Is Investigating If Its Welspun Egyptian Cotton Sheets Were Fake 08/23/2016

Welspun India also has products with Bed Bath and Beyond, Costco, and Macy’s.

Those fancy new Egyptian cotton sheets you bought from Walmart or Target may have been knock offs.

After retail giant Target revealed last Friday that some of the so-called luxury sheets originating from Indian textiles manufacturer Welspun were falsely labelled Egyptian cotton, Walmart WMT -1.00% says it too is reviewing its stock. Complete article

AMARILLO, Texas, (KVII) — The Walmart on I-27 and Georgia has been the site of multiple crimes within the past few months.

Most recently, Sunday, a woman was hit with a car, knocked to the ground and her purse stolen out of her shopping cart.

Last week, a man accidentally shot himself in the leg, disposed of the gun in a trash can and left the store before officers or an ambulance arrived.

In July, the store was evacuated after a bomb threat was called in.

Most notably, the hostage situation back in June that ended when police shot and killed the suspect.

In the wake of the hostage situation Walmart hired off-duty police officers to add extra security. But, only for a couple weeks. Complete article

Woman shot at Ga. Walmart 08/24/2016

ATLANTA (CBS46) - Officers responded to a shooting last night in the Walmart parking lot on Memorial Drive.

The female victim was parked in her vehicle when a truck pulled up beside her. A male suspect exited the truck, pulled a gun and started shooting the victim. The woman jumped out of her car and ran. A concerned citizen picked up the woman and drove her to the Dekalb County Jail. She was then transported to a local hospital. Complete article

A Lewiston man was ordered to serve an initial 45 days in jail for stealing a home security camera in February 2015 from Wal-Mart in Augusta.

Andrew L. Michaud Jr., 51, was sentenced Wednesday to two years in jail, with all but the first 45 days suspended, and placed on probation for one year. The sentence follows conviction by a jury Aug. 18 after a one-day trial at the Capital Judicial Center.

Michaud was convicted of theft and violating condition of release stemming from the Feb. 15, 2015, theft at Wal-Mart. Complete article

A Palm Coast man is facing a weapons charge after police say he fired a handgun in the parking lot of the Ormond Beach Wal-Mart and the bullet struck a passing vehicle.

Jay Philip Estes, 38, is charged with discharging a firearm in public, a misdemeanor, after police say the weapon accidentally went off Aug. 9 while Estes was demonstrating his self-defense technique, according to a charging affidavit. Complete article

Company recalls fresh-cut vegetables sold at Walmart, for possible contamination with Listeria 08/27/2016

CONROE, Texas — A company is recalling 30,000 cases of fresh-cut vegetable products, including some sold at Walmart stores in Virginia, over concerns that they are contaminated with Listeria.

Country Fresh Inc. announced the recall Friday and said the containers of cut vegetables were shipped to stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

The products, which are labeled as Country Fresh or the in-store brands for Bi-Lo, Fresh Point, Harris Teeter, Publix, QuikTrip, Spinx, Wal-Mart and Winn-Dixie, come in clear plastic containers or are in Styrofoam trays covered with plastic wrap. Complete article

Obama Finds an Ally in Wal-Mart, Whose Stores He Once Shunned 08/29/2016

As a freshman senator with his eye on the presidency, Barack Obama said he’d never shop at a Wal-Mart and held the company up as an emblem of corporate greed.

Today, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is one of Obama’s most reliable corporate allies, a go-to partner that’s backed the White House on more than a dozen business initiatives, particularly Obamacare and climate change.

The pairing benefits both. Obama can point to Wal-Mart’s support to beat back Republican charges that he’s hostile to business. Wal-Mart can point to the president’s embrace to lure squeamish shoppers who, like Obama of old, have stayed away out of a belief the company hurts workers and undercuts competition. This is a key part of the company’s effort to spur continued growth. Complete article

MILLBROOK, Ala. — A Wal-Mart spokeswoman says a can of pepper spray is the suspected culprit for the evacuation of an Alabama store.

The store was evacuated Sunday in Millbrook, 10 miles north of Montgomery, after customers complained of irritated eyes and breathing problems. WSFA-TV reported that authorities initially blamed a piece of rotting produce for the problems.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Leslee Wright said Monday that employees later found an empty can of pepper spray under a merchandise display and suspect that caused customers' reactions. Complete article

The long legal battle by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to sell liquor in Texas appears to have new life.

A liquor store trade group can join a federal lawsuit between the Arkansas-based mega-retailer and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the Associated Press reported. The Texas Package Stores Association represents about 2,500 liquor stores in the state. It sides with the TABC, not Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), which has said it would open "package stores" for liquor sales next to its traditional retail outlets, contends that Texas' liquor laws are unconstitutional. The outcome could have major repercussions for other retailers interested in adding booze to their offerings.

The trial had been set for September, according to the AP, before the Texas Package Stores Association won the OK to challenge a judge's order keeping them out of the lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman must now select a new trial date. Complete article

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) – A 33-year-old woman reported to police she was pulled into a car in a Walmart parking lot and raped.

It happened on Sunday at the retailer located on South Rutherford Boulevard in Murfreesboro.

According to an incident report from Murfreesboro police, the woman said she was approached by a Hispanic man while in the store. She stated that when she left the store, the man grabbed her by the arm and forced her into a car where she was raped. Complete article

Cargill, General Mills, Wal-Mart and several other giant food, agricultural and environmental groups will announce a partnership on Wednesday to accelerate programs and research to improve soil health and water quality on farms.

The idea evolved from a meeting of CEOs that Wal-Mart held two years ago at its Arkansas headquarters. The topic: how the companies could help support agriculture in the Midwest.

Among other things, it was clear that companies were increasingly making commitments to customers that their products would come from fields or barns where farming is done sustainably with minimal damage to the environment. Complete article